When You Wish Upon a Star
by Chair Meow
Summary: When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, no request is too extreme...unless it's several hundreds wishes, one beffudled and sarcastic star, a princess with too many shining knights, a pirate with high aspirations, two evil queens fighting over a heart, and a little boy who just wants happiness. A tale of friendship and faith...and a little romance on the side.
1. Chapter 1

XXX ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO CREATORS EDWARD KITSIS AND ADAM HOROWITZ XXX

Her very first thought was that this existence, if it could be called that, was dark and cold. What very little there was to her seemed to move in directions she couldn't control, spiraling at unimaginable speeds and always out of her reach. She felt compelled to expand, yet had no limbs. At the core of her being, a small spark would flare but never quite take hold.

For a long time that was all that she was…an almost-there.

And then one day she felt _heat_ for the first time. It was a wonderful thing, warm, building. It grew at the very center of what she was, flaring out, pushing and pulling. It grew and grew, until it was heat and a light so intense that it allowed her to see far into the dark space around her. So far that she noticed other beings resembling her and others that were barren and dull.

The years passed, and then centuries, even several millennia and still she grew. Her shine became an explosion of colors, something she was beginning to understand. The others like her called them purples and blues. Greens. Pinks. Silver.

When they spoke to her, their words not a solid concept but feeling inside of her, they told her she would soon be mature enough to hear the sounds of the universe. That was what they spent their lives doing: seeing, watching, and hearing. She was so…anxious…for that day to come that she spent years just waiting, eyes fixated in every minute change around her.

The first time it happened, she thought it was the wind around her. It was prone to being loud as it crashed boulders against one another.

"_That is her. Mother to us,_" that tiny little voice said.

She looked towards it, amazed by the foreign sound. She wanted to ask how was it that spoke, but she had no voice that they would understand. It wouldn't have mattered any way, because the next time she looked, decades had passed.

The others called those different worlds the "human worlds." The human worlds were populated by tiny creatures, with multiple legs and arms and who had heads. These creatures moved everywhere, changed things with their bare hands. In one world, several had tails and spent most of their time under liquid water. She liked watching them in particular, for their tails reflected the light and shone in pretty colors.

In this world, there were even smaller creatures with tiny wings and who made magic in the most special ways. Everywhere they went, they left a coast of shining dust that brightened life just a little more. They were the ones in charge of bringing rain in the spring, flowers in the early summer, snow in the winter, and changing the colors in the fall. In that world, no one ever aged.

The others weren't so lucky.

In one, frightening creatures were born from nightmares and they consumed their victims whole. Every surface of that world was brilliant explosion of color, yet every door led straight in to a maze. If the humans weren't careful, they lived their entire lives lost.

In another, tales being her wildest dream seemed to take shape. She learned what it was to be a princess, and a queen, and the meaning of evil. She watched a man become a beast. She saw wondrous things be destroyed for the sake of power. She lost, and then gained, faith in the human soul.

By the time she became familiar with all the worlds, she could not help but favor the smallest and most fragile for it was devoid of magic and so very alone. The humans there lived in darkness, most of them fearful and weak but so full of potential. Each day they discovered something new and she found that she often regretted when night fell on them. The first time they discovered fire she had felt…pride.

And then they understood curiosity. Followed by reason. Faith. Greed. Science!

At each step she became closer to them, wishing she could speak to them like they spoke to one another. Even the bad and ugly she loved about them.

Many years passed before one of them discovered the words to speak directly to her kind. He was special creature, a believer unlike any before him. He spoke of his loneliness in the world, of the emptiness in his soul. He was gentle and sweet and her kind wept for him.

One day, an elder looked down upon him and knowing that his heart was pure and true, she shone her light upon him and granted him his wish. A woman came into his life, beautiful and kind as he, and together they lived happily ever after.

Not all wishes that her kind granted worked well.

Not all humans were good.

Some were truly weak, corruptible, of low morals and greedy.

They were oblivious to goodness and faith and miracles. They were lost souls that her kind wished to help but often failed.

Even more years passed and she began to lose faith again. They seemed to loose their belief in the mystery of the world. They killed believers and destroyed temples in the honor of her kind. With a broken faith in them, she turned her attention to other worlds, other lives and stories and tried to forget those magic-less humans.

Until that little boy.

His voice was soft and distant. She could never hear him but the others of her kind could. They rallied behind him, loving him, shining upon him. He was alone in the world in that magic-less world, but he _believed_. So her kind took him away to another place, a happy one, where he had a family of those much like him and where magic surrounded his every move.

She avoided looking for him when night fell. She didn't want to become close to another only to lose him to the madness that were humans.

She kept her attention on the depth of space and the quiet solitude of her kind.

And that was where she was, perched at the edge of space, her vision focused on the formation of another of her kind.

It was when she heard a stranger's voice. "_Star light, Star bright, the first Star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight_."

It had been such a long time that she had heard a human's voice that she was shocked by the clarity of it. "_Please. Please." _The prayers were fervently said and made the whole of her being shake.

That had never happened before.

"_Just this once_."

Her being compressed at the sound of his voice and she lost control of spiraling surrounding her.

There was a tug. A pull. Her shine seemed to withdraw towards her center. She tried to will it back, but she felt a strange sensation taking over her.

Was she…falling?

Her area of space no longer supported what she was. She had no grip to hold her and her being plummeted from the sky at speeds that blurred even her vision.

She zoomed by the others, calling for them and their help. None responded as they watched her enter the boundary of the human world.

When she made contact with firm ground, the very first contact she'd ever had with anything, it occurred to her this place was the cold and dark place she remembered from the beginning of her creation.

It was…wet. And salty. Something rough lay under her and covered her…skin.

These things allowed her to see were blurred and sore. There were appendages that extended from her center that didn't feel proper.

"Lady! Are you okay?" Some shouted.

Her head pounded.

"What the hell? Are you naked?"

Her eyes opened long enough that she could see her surroundings. Her fall had caused a crater like the ones on the face of the moon. It was on a beach and the roughness against her skin was sand. The saltiness came from a few of the waves that fell over the crater.

"Someone get help!"

There were other voices now, overlapping each other.

And all that she could think of was: _humans._

_X_

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__After so much OUAT watching and so many Captain Swan gifs, I couldn't control myself. I hope you enjoyed chapter one and that you come back for more! With lots of love,

Chair


	2. Chapter 2

XXX ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO CREATORS EDWARD KITSIS AND ADAM HOROWITZ XXX

Humans…smelled.

It wasn't particularly bad, just a little too sweet or a tad tangy or overly musky.

Each one had a different scent on their skins and the woman hovering over her smelled of cotton balls and baby powder.

"You are awake," she said with a smile as she leaned backwards. Her hands were gloved and she was holding a tube. "The doctor will be in soon to talk to you. Do you have a name, sweetheart?"

_Sweetheart?_

Her being did not enjoy being referred to as 'Sweetheart'. She was Child of Chaos and Time. Not someone's _sweetheart_. She tried to voice her displeasure to the human, but she didn't know the words to use. Never in all her years had she ever _spoken_.

"It's alright, baby. We think you might have a concussion. Just waiting on test results," the woman said before she patted the great being on the arm. "Sit here very still and I'll get you something to drink, alright?"

Her touch was startling. The human was warm. Her hands were soft. She was gentle.

"Can we see her?" A voice said loudly and her ears began to ring.

She was becoming aware of her surroundings. The room was white and sterile, cool. The humans had laid her down on a white bed. She was covered by a faded blue blanket. The voice, a child, was out in the hallway and she couldn't see him. But she could hear the excitement in his voice.

"Hen—"

"Don't you see it? She's here for me! I called her!"

Her being rolled her eyes. _Humans_.

"Henry, she's just a girl who probably drank a little too much and got naked at the beach," some one else said.

_Well that was uncalled for_, she thought.

"The crater! And her shine! I'm telling you, Emma. She's a star!"

At least they weren't stupid.

The woman, the nurse, walked out of the room with a bright smile and the star tried to sit up in vain. Her appendages, arms and legs, had never been used before and felt weak. Her hands shook as she tried to raise them. As she glanced down the rest of her body, she noticed long black tresses that coiled over the blanket nearly to her knees. The skin that covered her arms was golden brown.

The door burst open and little boy with dark hair came running in, charging towards the side of her bed.

"What's your name?"

He had pretty dark eyes. His skin was a flawless white. She could tell just by the smile on his face and the brightness of him that he was still an innocent.

And that voice…

"You!" she croaked and nearly coughed up a lung as her underused throat contracted. She couldn't catch her breath between her throat spasm and her vision began to cloud.

"Sheriff Swan, I need you to get Henry out of the room." Somewhere in the back of her consciousness, a man's voice rang through.

Cold hands pushed her back on her back and someone pushed a cup into her hands and the next thing she knew cold liquid was slipping down her throat.

"Come on, Henry. You shouldn't be here anyway," a woman's voice said.

"But Emma! I need to talk to her!"

"Did you find an I.D.? Something so I can maybe find her medical record?"

"She doesn't have a medical record. She's a star. She fell from the sky!" The boy shouted louder even though through her blurry vision she could barely see him.

"I left David on the scene scouring for her clothes or I.D. I'll go back and check with him."

Her coughing was subsiding, but her throat now burned. As the tears began to clear away she saw the tall blond standing at the doorway with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. She looked suspicious.

Her being narrowed its eyes, replicating that look. How interesting that the young human thought she could stare down an immortal such as she, but once their eyes locked, the human dropped her stare and spun around.

Her being turned her attention back to the human male who was holding a folder and glaring at it. "The CT scans didn't turn up anything. The images have been far too exposed to see anything at all inside of you, but your blood work is…remarkable."

Her being didn't like him immediately. It occurred to her that she knew who he was…Dr. Whale, the man who had once been Dr. Frankenstein. "I wish to leave." She formulated her words carefully, tasting them as they rolled out of her mouth.

"Ma'am, I can't release you until you are deemed healthy enough. Now, can you tell me your name?"

What difference would it have made, she wondered. Her name…was nonexistent in the words of humans. Her kind did not speak through words but through the brightness of their cores. Her sisters recognized her by the colors of her flares and the reach of her shine.

Names were for those who lacked power.

"Jane Doe it is." He cleared his throat and picked up a folder. "Miss Doe, do you know where you are?"

"You will release me immediately."

"Ma'am, we can't do that." There was a smile on his face, a disgusting distortion. "Until Sheriff Swan comes back with some sort of I.D. for you or we can actually medically clear you, I will not discharge you. Now, do you know where you are?"

She narrowed her eyes further. "Mortal, you will release me."

"In to my custody." The newcomer was tall young man, with sparkling eyes. Like Frankenstein, he was familiar as the blue skies. It had been a long time since she'd seen him either.

"This place…it is not a land of magic, is it?" She asked, a strange feeling blooming inside of her. Was this what mortals called 'fear'?

His smile was small as he bowed his head. "I'm afraid not."

So not only had she fallen from the sky and was surrounded by scented humans…she was also stuck in the tiny little town of Storybrooke where magical characters with identity crisis were running around rampant.

"I will leave now!" Her patience was wearing thin. She couldn't be here. This land was an abomination. It was fueled by hatred and doubt and disbelief. These humans were ungrateful.

Her being did not belong here.

She ignored them both as she tried to stand on her own. The prince was quick to help her, keeping his eyes down respectfully. It was exactly the kind of reverence she expected from someone below her.

Her feet touched the ground and she wavered, unaccustomed to walking. The prince's hands were the only thing that kept her standing.

"David, I can't let her out," Whale argued.

"As acting mayor of Storybrooke, I have it in my authority to assume responsibility for this woman." The man seemed to have to scramble to catch up to her as she began to wobble towards the door.

"I am no woman."

The hallway was crowded with humans, all who stared at her with wide eyes. They knew what she was. They were in awe. But at least they were also quiet.

The humans scurried out of her way and she stumbled down the hall, eyes scanning the walls for a way out. Her steps weren't all well measured, but she walked fast enough that the prince had no choice but to support her and follow along.

"You are not strong enough to—"

She pushed through the doors, momentarily blinded by the light of one of her sisters. How wonderful was the warmth of the familiar…

"What's going on?"

The prince had released her arm and she staggered. Indignation rose up in her chest as she looked away from her sister to the scene playing in front of them.

Gathered in the hospital parking lot were the little boy, the tall blond woman, along with Snow White. They were staring at a man leaning against a small yellow monstrosity with wheels.

The blond woman looked thoroughly shocked.

"Emma?" The prince asked again, hurrying towards the blond's side.

Emma. Emma Swan. The Fated Child. The Savior. The last princess born in the Magic Kingdom. She knew this Emma, too.

"Mom?" The little boy was tugging hard on her hand as the man straightened from leaning against the yellow wagon and started walking towards them.

"Emma, is that…" Snow White's voice trailed off the stranger stopped just in front of Emma Swan and gave her a small, sad smile. He looked at the boy, just barely raising his hand as if to touch him.

"This is Neal Cassady," Emma said quietly, one hand protectively closing around the boy's shoulder and dragging him back behind her. She blocked the stranger's view of her son, a grim look on her face.

"See?" The boy nearly shouted as he looked between all the adults. "I told you she was a star! She made my wish come true! She showed my dad a way here!"

X

"Is it true?" Cora asked as she gathered her skirts and stepped on to the deck of the Jolly Roger.

"Is what true?"

Captain Hook opened one lazy eye, still content to lay in the sunshine with his boots crossed and a novelty bottle of beer in his hand. This ridiculous new world couldn't boast of a great deal but their ale certainty was remarkable.

"Has a star fallen in Storybrooke?" Cora asked as she placed her hands on the railing of the ship and leaned forward.

He studied her for a moment, displeased by the maniacal look in her eyes. He was getting quite tired of it. But a partnership was a partnership and he was going to need the Mad Queen to skin on his crocodile. He sighed.

"That seems to be the reason for all the buzz, yes."

"We will need her," Cora said. She was nearly gleeful.

"Why?"

Those sharp dark eyes turned towards him. Her lips stretched into a feral smile. "Her heart holds a power as strong as the Sun. We are going to it if we are going to skin your crocodile."

"To kill a star is a sacrilege, Your Majesty. Surely even you know that."

"It's a good thing, then, that the only thing you've ever worshipped in your whole life is yourself."

Her heartless laughter filled the air and for once, Captain Hook didn't feel like drinking anymore.

X

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So while Tumblr was down, I occupied myself with writing this chapter. Things will start picking up soon. Now that David has "assumed responsibility" for the star, she will be living in close proximity with Emma. And since Hook has to kidnap her, well, he will be running into Sheriff Swan very soon. And Neal...he followed a shooting star back to Storybrooke, but is that really a good thing?

-Chair


	3. Chapter 3

XXX ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO CREATORS EDWARD KITSIS AND ADAM HOROWITZ AND BASED LOOSELY UPON NEIL GAIMAN'S PLOT XXX

Emma slammed the door shut and stared at the young woman standing in the middle of Mary Margaret's apartment.

This was a star.

"Do you have a name?"

"Not by your standards."

Her voice was strange, supernatural. She sounded like howling wind. Waves crashing. Like a mother's whisper. It was hard to figure out which one.

The young woman before her was boarder-lining twenty-five at most. She was dressed in hospital scrubs and one of Mary Margaret's bathrobes. One of the nurses had braided her thick black hair. She was at best five foot six, more muscular than thin, shapely. Her nose was slightly too big for her face, and her cheekbones were incredibly high and sculpted. Her olive skin glowed; a healthy flush covered her cheeks as her doe-eyes showed a range of emotions that were constantly changing.

She wasn't the kind of beautiful men stopped to stare at. She was no Ruby, nor a Regina, much less a Snow White.

But she was something that made the blood boil.

She was young, youthful, vibrant. There was a childish innocent to that soft chin even if those eyes looked so sad.

This woman, this girl, was quintessentially alive. Vital. Bursting with energy that came from her pores, the way it happened when you were at the cusp of youth.

She felt human. And yet that wasn't enough to describe her.

"Are you really a star?"

Those dark brown eyes turned to look at her. For a moment, she was entirely placid, but then she smiled and it was…breathtaking. "Yes, Your Highest."

Emma shifted uncomfortably. "David said to refer to you as 'Your Excellency'."

"It is a title granted to me by right of birth. As princess is yours," the star answered. She looked around once more, before approaching the sofa and gracefully falling over on to it.

It seemed unwise to argue with a star, but it grated Emma's nerves how the girl seemed to claim ownership of the room with just her presence.

"Is that man your son's father?"

A nosy star.

"Yes." She blinked. "Did he follow you here?"

"Of course not. That's ridiculous," she grumbled. "It was a sorry coincidence, I'm afraid."

"But Henry—"

"Your son," the star cut off as she looked around. "Where did you send him?"

"With David and Mary Margaret. He already has a very active imagination without you to fuel him."

One bold eyebrow arched. "Mary Margaret. She is Snow White. I am quite fond of her. She was always a beautiful dreamer."

For once, there was true feeling behind her voice. And she certainly started to appear less frightening. "You know her?"

"I've heard of her. Our beings are the historians of the universe. We hear a great deal."

Emma pulled off her jacket and threw it across the kitchen island as she walked towards the star. "We are going to have a very serious conversation now."

The star leaned back against the pillows on the sofa. "Are we?"

"Are you evil?"

"Our beings prefer not to take sides."

An honest question. And a vague one.

"Will you hurt any one here?"

"I just want to return home." Another fully honest answer.

"How did you get here?"

It took the star a while to answer. Emma took a seat opposite of her and leaned in. "I was up there. Watching another sister being formed…and then a voice calling. I just fell." She looked vulnerable as she drew her arms across her chest.

"Are you really going to grant Henry's wish?"

"We don't fall to grant you people wishes! That's not what we want to do with our lives, you know! Stars want things too, alright? And it doesn't involve crashing through space just to—" Her eyes filled with tears and her lower lips trembled. She even sniffed a little before she gathered herself and straightened. "What time is it?"

A little awkwardly, Emma glanced at her watch. "Five in the afternoon."

"What time does the Sun set here?"

"Another hour maybe."

"Good, I must speak to my sisters." She stood and made for the door.

"Whoa. Whoa! You can't walk around like that." Emma grabbed the star's arm and let go immediately with a scream. Her skin was blowing hot and her flesh wasn't soft.

The star spun around, her eyes wide. She began to grumble as she snatched Emma's hand in hers and looked around the kitchen. "Do not ever touch a star without permission, Your Highness," she said quietly as she pulled Emma to the sink and turned the water on. She pushed Emma's hand under the stream.

"How did you do that?" Emma asked as the relief of the sting ran up her body.

"I do not know."

The sheriff glanced the hand holding on to her wrist. "You are not warm now."

"I wish to touch you. I would not hurt you intentionally," the star replied.

"Why not?"

The star shrugged. "Your mother. Your son. I do not know."

She let go of Emma's wrist and took a couple of steps back. Emma pulled her hand out and glanced at it. An ugly red mark was starting to appear. "Can you heal this?"

"I have never tried such thing," the star answered as she glanced at it. She extended her hand and touched the burn.

Nothing happened.

"I thought you were magical," Emma muttered.

Those sharp eyes turned on her. "_I am_."

"Let's get this straight. You don't know how you got here, you don't know why you came, and you want to go home?"

"Yes."

"And you had no hand in Neal showing up in Storybrooke after all this time?"

That had been a shock. Emma was still reeling from it.

After leaving the star in her hospital room and attempting to drag Henry back to Regina's, the last thing she had expected, the last thing she'd dreamed of, was finding Neal Cassady waiting for her. Just standing there leaning against the old yellow Beetle like ten years hadn't gone by.

And when Henry had seen him.

"My son knew his father was alive this whole time," she whispered to herself.

"Children…they can spot a liar like werewolves can smell blood," the star muttered.

"Huh?"

"A child's perception is the clearest, most precise thing in all the universe. They truly see souls. Your son knew because, well, he is young at heart."

Which meant Emma would have to apologize profusely and explain a great deal to him.

"Hello?" The front door burst open and Ruby came running in, her arms filled with clothes. She froze as she caught sight of the two of them. "Oh my freakin' God. It's true, isn't it?"

She threw the heap of clothing on the kitchen counter before she stopped in front of the star and…curtsied. "Your Excellency."

What happened next was nearly as shocking as Neal's sudden appearance. The star had just been staring at Ruby when her arms suddenly flared out and she threw them around the woman and heaved her close in a hug. "Wolf child. By Chaos. Wolf child!"

Ruby was laughing. She was laughing hard as she in return hugged the star. "I thought…I thought you wouldn't recognize me."

The star pulled away only to cup Ruby's face. She stared at her hard, her eyes scanning every inch of Ruby as if to assure herself nothing had changed. "Forget you? I could never forget you, Moon child. You are a creature of the night. You are part of the me."

"You two know each other?" Emma asked wearily.

"Not _know _each other. We've…watched each other?" Ruby phrased. "When you are a werewolf, the night sky is…the one thing you love most. And everything up there is familiar to you."

"And when you are a star and night is your home, we light the way for the Children of the Moon," the star added.

"So you've never met in person before?"

"No," the star answered as she continued to smile at Ruby. "But a werewolf's howling can be heard to the end of the Universe. It is what keeps us company. It is what chases the silence away. That is why we watch over them."

Ruby's smile widened. "I never thought I would meet a star."

"I never thought I would fall from the sky," the star replied and her smile began to subside.

The awkward silence was returning and Emma looked between the two with mixed feelings. She looked at the pile of clothing Ruby had brought with her. "Oh, good. I was worried I'd have to let her wander around naked."

Ruby cleared her throat. "Maybe some of this stuff will fit, Your Excellency. At least until we can find you more appropriate clothing."

"Listen, Ruby, I need you to keep an eye on her for me," Emma said as she picked up her jacket.

"Huh?"

"I do not need a keeper, Princess," the star said as she picked up a bra from the pile and held it up. "What is this?"

"Where you going?" Ruby asked as Emma started walking towards the door.

"I'm going to let you two catch up while I go take care of some unpleasant business," she said as she checked the gun at her hip. If a rational threat didn't work with Neal, she was going to shoot him.

"What?"

"Her son's father has arrived in town," the star said as she pulled out more clothes from the pile, including a thong. She stared at it.

"Hey!" Emma snapped.

"I thought you said he was dead," Ruby nearly screamed.

Emma smiled grimly. "I sure hoped he was."

"Oh my God, what are you gonna tell your mom? And Henry!"

"Cross that bridge when I get to it," she said as she pulled her jacket on.

"Interesting phrase," the star muttered. "It is usually something that you say in order to tell someone that you will not worry about a possible problem but will deal with it if it happens…From my poor understanding of this tragic human world, this is a problem, Your Highness."

Emma gave her a droll stare. "Keep Her Excellency company, Ruby. She doesn't like being touched without permission, but her mojo is limited."

"Mojo? Is that a new language? I have not learned it yet." More clothes were flung around, littering the ground.

Ruby half laughed, half snorted. "I'll get her caught up."

"Thanks." She made it all the way to the door before she froze and spun around. "Just…don't get into trouble."

The door banged shut behind her.

Ruby looked back at the star and smiled. She carefully rested her hand on the star's arm. "Welcome to Storybrooke."

X

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Dearest Ones,

It was recently brought to my attention that this story appeared similar to Neil Gaiman's work Stardust. Mr. Gaiman, of _Sandman, Neverwhere, and Coraline_ fame, wrote a novel (and directed a movie) about a falling star who is chased around a magical land by three witch sisters. Upon finding out about such book, these were my initial reactions:

1) Holy ** Noooooooo!

2) I picked up my trusty Nook, Barney, and downloaded that book.

3) Have you read that book?!

4) I'll be completely honest with you. Prior to reading Stardust I fully intended on killing everyone in this story. It would have been like watching something straight out of Joss Whedon's head. Emma and Killian would have tragically ended their romance ala Romeo&Juliet and in a ball of fire, the world would have imploded.

5) You think I'm kidding? Read the last chapter of Things and you'll see how sadistic I truly am.

6) Upon finishing that book (and using a whole box of Kleenex to dry my crocodile tears) I realized what a true genius Mr. Gaiman is (despite the fact that he is loosely affiliated with Marvel and I hate Marvel).

7) I will gladly give him credit for his story.

8) And I will adjust mine. How you ask? Well, Neil Gaiman's ending was freaking depressing enough on its own. It would be improbable (although not impossible) for me to replica such heart crushing ending.

a. Don't base yourselves off the movie. Read the book. It is not the same thing. The book does NOT have a happy ending.

9) I will vow now to give you a happy ending. Or the best I can. I'm naturally a skeptic (and secretly a hopeless romantic).

Finally, I would like to thank you for pointing out this book to me. I needed this…if anything, it gave me even more ideas that I can build from. It was lovely. If you have anything else I can read and enjoy during break, please let me know.

Love always,

Chair


	4. Chapter 4

XXX ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO CREATORS EDWARD KITSIS AND ADAM HOROWITZ AND BASED LOOSELY UPON NEIL GAIMAN'S PLOT XXX

It wasn't hard to find a star.

All Hook had to do was look for the crowd of people lining up on the street to get into Granny's Diner. Children eagerly tugged on the hands of the mothers and grown men craned their necks to look through the window.

And they all cleared out of his way as he approached the front of the line.

The bell rang as he pushed the door open and immediately the place quieted down.

"Don't worry, citizens. I come in peace," he announced. They glanced him suspiciously.

Things hadn't been exactly smooth since his arrival in Storybrooke. At first, no one had known they were there and Cora had liked it that way as she had made her daughter think she was losing her mind. Many things had disappeared from Regina's house and she'd seen "images" of Cora everywhere she went. It was enough to make a sane person go crazy.

But that wasn't all.

It had taken him barely a day to find the crocodile. In this world, he went by the name of Gold. He was a shopkeeper. A cripple.

And he had a new love in his life…

Aside from the warning that the Swan girl had given him that very first day, there were other things that kept Killian from the engaging the crocodile. Jail didn't worry him much, but after years of hunting his crocodile killing him so soon seemed…anticlimactic.

The Dark One had taken Milah from him and perhaps he wasn't above taking his precious Belle from him. Specially after dear old Gold had clubbed him with a cane.

As he had expected, the star was sitting prettily at the counter, a whole pie in front of her. In front of her, Granny Lucas was wiping her hands on her apron with a satisfied smile on her face. Ruby, the werewolf from hell, was standing there too, grinning.

At the sight of him, a small snarl formed on her face.

Killian just smiled and moved to an empty booth near the back. He sat down just in time to see the front door bang open and the Swan Sheriff came barging in with a look that spoke wonders about her mood. Her hands shook as she pulled her gloves off and slammed them on the counter.

"So?" He heard the werewolf ask. "How did it…go?"

As Emma pulled on stool, she glanced at the pie the star had in front of her. "Nothing happened. I can't find him anywhere," she glanced at Ruby, "you're not harboring at the inn, are you?"

"I don't even know what he looks like," Ruby replied.

"He looks like man in the corner." The star's voice was clear and strong. The sound of it reminded him of calm waters and seagull cries.

"Damn it!" Emma growled as she spun around to face the direction where the star had imperiously waved to with her fork.

The star looked back at the pie. "This is sustenance?"

Emma nor the werewolf paid attention to her as they both spun around to face the corner opposite from where Killian was sitting. It was equally isolated, dark even.

The man seated there was…normal looking, no dash of charm or charisma to him. He was dressed in a beige suit, a mug of coffee between his hands. As far as Killian was concerned, his hair was too shaggy and the thing red thing wrapped around his neck was hideous. He was looking up at Emma Swan, those eyes wide and disgusting-looking.

He was surprised when Swan stood up in a hurry, nearly knocking her stool to the ground, before she hurried over the man. He wished he could see the look on her face.

"You need to leave. Now." Her voice carried throughout the diner and customers stopped and looked up at the altercation.

"Emma. Please. Sit down."

"No." She actually grabbed his lapels and tried to heave him up.

It occurred to Killian that this was just too good.

"Emma." What a pitiful little man…

"You are gonna leave now or I'm gonna lock you up in a tiny little cell for the rest of your sorry life."

Well, _that _was a threat he couldn't poke fun at.

"I want to meet Henry, Emma. I want to explain—"

He wasn't sure what the best reaction was. The way Emma pulled back her fist and let it fly against the man's jaw or the way the star spun on her stool pie in hand, her mouth stuffed and her expression interested.

Ruby and Granny Lucas had both jumped towards Emma, pulling her back before she could land another blow. The mystery man was clutching his nose and the star had her head cocked to the side. She lifted a forkful of pie to her lips.

Ruby's lips were moving fast but too quietly for him to hear. She was pulling Emma back even as Emma pointed at the man. "Out of town. Or next time I'll shoot you."

Instead of dragging the sheriff out the front door, Ruby pulled her towards the swinging doors to the kitchen.

And here was his chance…

The star was sitting by herself, pie in hand, the heels of her boots swinging as her head turned to follow the star. After a few seconds passed, she jumped down from the bar stool, wavered in her feet and then carefully followed after Emma and Ruby. As she went, she handed Granny the empty pie dish.

He stood up. If curiosity killed the cat, then he was possibly about to suffer the same fate.

The kitchen was empty, but the door out to the alley was open. He could hear heels clicking.

"I'd say that was a bit harsh," he heard Ruby say. "Now every one is gonna wonder what drove our sweet princess to assault a total stranger."

"Harsh?" Emma repeated. "I should have killed him."

"You are not gonna kill the father of your child, Emma. That's ridiculous!"

Perhaps it was the first time he truly heard the words.

_My goodness the things that just fall into my lap. _

So the ugly man was the father of Emma's son, Henry. That impressionable young man, who was more curious about Neverland than anyone he'd ever met, belonged to the boring-looking trader-type. He almost couldn't believe it.

But Emma Swan's reaction was reassurance enough.

She was pacing, blond hair blowing behind her. She had one hand on her gun and the other running through her hair. "He can't just show up around here like I didn't spend an year in jail for a crime he committed. And he can't act like he has any claim to Henry. I BARELY HAVE ANY CLAIM FOR HENRY!"

He could have sworn that Swan was near tears.

"You. Mortal. What are you doing standing there?"

Killian stumbled back when he realized how close the star was standing to him. Upon close she was as frightening as he had expected her to be. Her skin the color of dark honey, her teeth as white as pearls…in the falling night, her eyes were nearly the black of void space.

"You must be our star. Your Excellency, Killian Jones at your service."

Her eyes narrowed. She tipped her head to the side and then frowned. "You are familiar to me, mortal. Yet I cannot remember you."

He felt his heart beat faster as she leaned closer. The air seemed to vibrate around her. "Why would you? I am nothing but a humble man." He attempted to keep his breathing steady as the star inspected him closely.

"That's news to me," Emma muttered from behind the star. "What are you doing here, Hook? No evil plan to master mind?"

"Hook, Hook, Hook," the star whispered to herself under her breath. "I do not remember a hook."

"Evil plan? Emma, sweetheart, I am quite simply exercising revenge for the death of the love of my life. What is so evil about that?" he looked away from the frightening little star towards the woman who'd made life in Storybrooke increasingly difficult. "And from what I've just gathered, love, you are on a path of revenge yourself."

"What are you talking about?"

"Young Henry's father has turned up, hasn't he? First you punched him, then threatened to jail him for eternity, and finally to shoot the poor bastard," he pointed out. He liked the way her face began to turn red. "Love, you and I are on the same path to right the wrongs done to us."

"Hook, shut up or I swear—"

"You will seize your speaking, mortals." The star pushed past them, her face turned towards the sky. Involuntarily, Killian shut his mouth and stared at her as turned to Ruby and Emma. "I wish to return to the place I was first found."

Ruby pointed in the direction of the beach. "It's that way, but—"

The star had already left. Ruby ran after her. Emma grumbled something under her breath before she followed.

He could have stood there and watched them all escape or he could have followed. So he did, with his hand and hook stuffed in the pocket of his jacket.

By the time he caught up to them, all three were standing on the beach and the star was pulling off her gloves and coat and divesting herself of her socks.

"Are we stripping now? Is it that kind of outing?"

"What the hell are you still doing here?"

Killian stepped closer to Emma as she watched the star bury her toes in the sand. "Since I've gotten to this little town all we've done is bicker, Emma dear."

"That's because you came here with the full intention of committing a homicide."

"Reasonable homicide, Emma."

"Taking another person's life is not reasonable."

"Every single damn time." Ruby was near the water edge, one hand reaching out for the star. "Your Excellency…"

Killian wanted to tell her that the star was not listening to them.

She had this look on her face that was very familiar with. He'd seen it in Emma's face once and too often on his own.

It was the look of a creature stuck. A person with a home and who couldn't get to it. Her expression was blank as she turned her face up to the dark sky. The moon shone on her so brightly that she stood like a beacon with her feet sunk in the water.

"What's she trying to do?" He asked, even though he knew what her intentions were.

"She's trying to get home." Emma looked at him before looking back at the star.

"Isn't that familiar around here?" He grumbled. "I suppose I've nothing better to do than watch."

He didn't budge even when Emma started pacing. The star never moved although her facial expression changed. With each passing moment her face became sadder and the light faded a little more.

Ruby entered the water. "Your Excellency…"

"I don't think they can hear me. I can't hear them either."

There was a sharp pain in Killian's chest at the sound of her voice. Her lips were trembling and turning blue. Her shoulders were sagging as her head toward from side to side.

"Nothing. No sound," she whispered.

He looked at Emma, who had turned her back to them. She looked equally disturbed.

"You are just recovering. You could use some rest. You can try again tomorrow," she said when she turned around. "Until them, I'll take you back to my place. It's quiet. You can recover and—"

"What? Be on her merry way?" He asked.

"If you're not going to be helpful, Hook, you can go back to Cora."

"Please, Emma, I live to help damsels in distress." He winked at her. "I am here to offer my services to Her Excellency. I figured out how to get here, didn't I? Who is to say I can't figure out a way home for her?"

The star turned around, taking Ruby's hand and walking out of the water. "Come along, mortals. I tire of this."

As they watched Ruby and the star walk away, Emma turned towards him. "You are planning something."

He just smiled at her.

It infuriated her further. "What ever you are up to, Hook, stop now."

"Or what?"

This time she grinned. "Or I'll knock you out again."

He sighed. "It was a one time deal, love. A lucky shot."

"I got you good. Three times." She wiggled her fingers at him.

Killian growled. "I doubt you'll look so smug when the lad's father refuses to leave town." Her little smile disappeared. "I expected some a tad more...dashing."

She spun on her heels. "Give Cora my regards."

He most certainly would. Along with the information that the pretty little star was firmly grounded in this magic-less world.

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Hello! I wanted to thank my faithful reviewers and to dedicate this chapter to them. I would love to get some more attention for this fic, but maybe I write a little too slow for everyone else. Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Feliz Navidad! Or what ever you celebrate. Let there be peace in the world.

With love always,

Chair


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